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“This is KFC not LBC don’t @ me”: Tory ad calling Corbyn a chicken falls flat

© Twitter/@Conservatives

10 Downing Street told us on Thursday, after the government’s motion was rejected by the Commons, that they were treating that day as the first of a general election campaign.

Ignoring that the Prime Minister had not actually succeeded in forcing a snap poll, the ‘launch’ saw Boris Johnson make a terrible speech in front of dozens of police officers, one of whom nearly fainted after being forced to wait over an hour for the PM to belatedly start his performance.

Onwards and upwards! The Prime Minister’s mission to embarrass Jeremy Corbyn so that he will fold and agree to an early election in October continues. Today, the Tories have unveiled a very special ad depicting the Labour leader as ‘JFC’, a ‘Totally Spineless Chicken’.

James Cleverly, now chair of the Conservative Party, went ahead and dutifully promoted the content at lunchtime. He tried his best to make the acronym work, but it just couldn’t.

Unfortunately for the Tories, KFC didn’t like their tweet and hit back with a genuinely funny one.

Perhaps they were offended by the implication that Kentucky Fried Chicken, the fast food restaurant chain, is literally a big chicken itself.

But the ruling party didn’t stop at just tweeting their new ad. They actually sent a man dressed as a chicken to the lobby in parliament and distributed what looks like highly unappealing microwaved chicken breasts.

The i‘s Richard Vaughan wondered whether the chicken was Lee Cain. That’s the PM’s spin doctor who was deployed by his former employer – The Mirror – to taunt David Cameron and other Tory MPs dressed as a chicken.

The chicken itself looked awful and didn’t good reviews from lobby journos, who might have appreciated a good lunch.

And the Tories have made the classic mistake here of producing materials that actually make Corbyn look pretty cool.

On Thursday, a passer-by told Johnson: “You should be in Brussels negotiating!”. “We are negotiating,” the politician on the campaign trail insisted. “You are not, you’re in Morley, in Leeds,” came the astute reply. It doesn’t seem as if Johnson has listened to that man on the street in Leeds.

What explains this epically cringeworthy ad? Owen Jones has a clue. (Please note, if you haven’t seen the Turning Point video below until now, it hurts to watch and stays with you.)

Tags: Jeremy Corbyn / KFC /
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